3-Heterocyclylcyclohexane-1,2-diols (also called 3-heterocyclyl-1,2-dihydroxy cyclohexanes) are key intermediates in the synthesis of certain antineoplastic compounds described in PCT/US2015/019770. An example of such a compound is N-((1R,2R,3S)-2-hydroxy-3-(10H-phenoxazin-10-yl)cyclohexyl)-4-(trifluoromethoxy)benezenesulfonamide, which is described therein. It is obtained from (1S,2R,3S)-3-(10H-phenoxazin-10-yl)cyclohexane-1,2-diol:
It would be highly desirable to have a process for assembling such 3-heterocyclylcyclohexane-1,2-diols and related species in good yield and high stereoselectivity.